Uncategorized

I’m departing from my usual topic for tonight.

I read a book once. Maybe you’ve heard of it? It’s a great book with this mythical wizard named Harry. To be honest, the book mesmerized me. Great writing, great characters and an underlying theme of the importance of friendship and love. Wow – Jo, you totally rock!

After I read the book I found that I “magically” discovered all of these people to discuss this wonderful piece of literature. These friends and I have had great, in-depth discussions over the years. We have discussed alchemy, the hero’s journey, mythology, word etymologies and other subjects that some of us would never have heard of in our pre-Hogwarts life.

During the discussions, and in the fun of working on this wonderful website, we became close friends. Without realizing it, the love that Lily used to save her son seeped out of the pages and into our hearts. Suddenly, we were family.

Tonight as a dark force looms close to my house I find that family reaching out to me, giving me strength, becoming both my patronus and my chocolate. Yet, amazingly enough it didn’t stop there. Using social networking these same people were able to notify families and friends closer to the storm where to find supplies, where stores were open and where hotels with rooms could be found. A friend from the UK found where my friend in Lafayette, LA could find batteries.

If that is not magic, what is?

If there is a spell that could repel a hurricane, I am sure Hermione knows it. (Actually, it’s probably in Hogwarts a History and I should have read it.) While Harry is the hero that brought us all together, tonight I am proud that my Leaky family is reaching out to those who need a little magic.

Here at Leaky we give each other Standing Ovations for things done that are exceptional.

To my Leaky Family, this Standing Ovation is not for your work on the site, but for your work in the world. For volunteering for the Red Cross because it’s the right thing to do, for donating blood for those who might need it, for volunteering your homes to people you don’t know, for spending hours listening to weather reports and relaying information about streets, stores and hotels, for praying and for doing all those other things you’ll do that I won’t even know about, this Standing O is for you.